


You can’t keep the ground from shaking (no matter how hard you try)

by SparrowFlight246



Category: Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Dad Rhodey, Friendship, Gen, Gunshot Wounds, Little bit of angst, Quick Helen Cho appearance, Quick Pepper appearance, Surgery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-24
Updated: 2018-08-24
Packaged: 2019-07-01 22:06:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15783051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SparrowFlight246/pseuds/SparrowFlight246
Summary: Tony gets shot at a lunch with Peter, and Rhodey and Peter spend a few hours together in an OR waiting room.Rhodey realizes his mother-henning tendencies exceed even his own expectations.





	You can’t keep the ground from shaking (no matter how hard you try)

**Author's Note:**

> Just a fun little one-shot :) title is from Old Dominion’s No Such Thing as a Broken Heart.
> 
> Thanks for reading and enjoy!!

James Rhodes is definitely not a stranger to seeing Tony Stark injured.

From the stupid incidents of their youth to the aftermath of Afghanistan to all the battle wounds he’d somehow managed to acquire since first donning the Iron Man suit, Tony getting hurt was far from an uncommon occurrence. And Rhodey always seemed to have the shitty luck of being there every time Tony got his ass handed to him, having to drag the bloodied and bruised self-sacrificing moron away from the danger and getting him help time after time again. 

So, after Tony was shot in the shoulder by some enemy or another during an unassuming lunch one day, Rhodey was mildly unsurprised to find himself in the waiting room of Helen Cho’s OR yet again, sipping bitter coffee and feeling a severe sense of déjà vu from all the times he’d been in this same exact situation before. 

Only this time, there was a shrimpy teenager sitting next to him in the cheap waiting room chairs, pale as a sheet and jittery as a hyperactive labradoodle on cocaine. And that was definitely new. 

To the kid’s credit, he was at least quiet, his lips in a thin line as he stared at his shoes and sat on his hands, his leg bouncing against the cushion of his seat. Tony’s blood stained the hem of his t-shirt. 

Rhodey had met Peter a few times over the months, after the whole Germany airport shebang. He knew that Tony had taken both Spider-Man and Peter Parker under his wing, but he only put two and two together when he walked in on Peter sitting on the couch in his suit without his mask one day, applying pressure to his own stab wound as Tony did calculations on his phone to see if stitches would even be necessary with Peter’s healing factor. 

After that, the secret was out. 

Once they got past that awkward situation, though, Peter would often be at the compound when Rhodey came in for adjustments on his leg braces. They would usually talk at least for a while on these occasions, Rhodey offering help on Peter’s homework as Peter told him and Tony about his day.

Honestly, though, their brief conversations rarely surpassed small talk. Rhodey would readily admit that he barely knew the teenager. 

But even he could tell that the kid wasn’t doing too well right now, and he felt like he had to do something to at least try to help.

“Hey, Peter.”

Peter’s head snapped up, eyes wide. “What’s up?” he asked quickly. “Is there any news on Mr. Stark yet?” 

“Nothing yet, sorry. I was just wondering if you want coffee or anything.”

Peter seemed to deflate at that, shoulders dropping slightly. Rhodey got it- lack of news was infuriating. Unfortunately, Tony probably had a while still in surgery, so the lack of news was likely to continue. “Oh. Uh, no thanks. I think I’m good.”

“Do you at least want a water?” Rhodey asked. Peter sighed slightly, shaking his head and looking down. “Well, if you change your mind, just let me know.”

“Yeah, thanks, Mr. Rhodes,” Peter said, meeting Rhodey’s eyes briefly before looking away again. 

Rhodey sighed, resigning to Peter not accepting anything at the moment and deciding just to leave him be for the time being. “No problem.” But then his eyes drifted down to the kids lap, where his hands lay, and Rhodey couldn’t help but speak up again. “Hey, are you cold, kid?”

“What?” 

“You’re shaking.”

Peter glanced down at his hands as if checking for himself, and sure enough, they were trembling almost violently. “Oh,” he said, a faint blush coloring his face as he sat on his hands again. “No, no, I’m fine. I guess it’s a little chilly in here, but I’m good, really.”

But Rhodey was already shrugging out of his jacket, bringing it around and offering it to Peter. “Here, have mine. I’m actually a little warm right now.”

Peter’s blush deepened, and he shook his head, avoiding Rhodey’s eyes. “Oh, no, I couldn’t, Mr. Rhodes. Don’t worry about me.”

Rhodey pushed the material towards the kid again. “It’s fine, Peter. Just take the jacket.”

Sighing in resignation, Peter accepted it, sliding his arms into the large sleeves and shrugging into the shoulders. Although he tried to suppress it, the relief on his face was clear as he huddled into the material as if he was trying to conserve the heat it had given him. He was absolutely swamped by it, but didn’t seem to notice, or care. 

“Better?”

“Yeah,” Peter said, throwing a slightly embarrassed but grateful smile Rhodey’s way. “Thanks, Mr. Rhodes. Uh, there’s a thing, with spiders, that they can’t thermoregulate, and I kind of got that when I got my powers, so I get cold kind of easily. So, yeah, thanks.”

“Of course,” Rhodey said, smiling slightly at the kids rambling. “And please, just call me Rhodey.” 

“Heh, okay.”

There was a long moment of quiet as Peter stared at the ground and Rhodey let his gaze wander over the simple but tasteful waiting room, empty save for the two of them, but then Peter looked back up at Rhodey, his expression suddenly a little nervous. “How much longer will Mr. Stark be in surgery, do you think? Like, just an idea?” he asked hesitantly. 

Rhodey sighed, glancing at his watch. “Probably for a while still now,” he said apologetically. “I can’t really say for sure at this point.”

“Oh. Okay.”

Looking over at the kid, Rhodey exhaled slightly. “Are you okay, Peter?” he asked again, voice gentle. 

Peter’s eyes flickered up. “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine.”

“Your hands are still shaking.”

Looking down at his trembling hands, Peter grimaced just slightly. “Oh.” He forced a laugh, trying to brush it off, the fake chuckle a little too shrill and a little too shaky. He stuffed his hands into the pockets of Rhodey’s jacket, trying to hide it. “That happens sometimes, I guess.”

Rhodey thought for a moment, then pursed his lips, looking over at Peter quietly. “You’ve never seen Tony hurt before, have you?” 

Peter looked a little surprised, then a little embarrassed. “Um, yeah, no,” he admitted, and Rhodey’s quiet suspicions were confirmed. “This is, uh, kind of a first.” 

“Hmm,” Rhodey said mildly. He glanced over at Peter, finding the kid watching him in a combination of terror, worry, and borderline humiliation. “He’s going to be fine. You know that, don’t you?” 

“Well, yeah,” Peter said, voice suddenly soft. He looked down at his lap, avoiding meeting Rhodey’s eyes. “Yeah. I mean, that’s what everyone’s keeps telling me. That the bullet missed anything important or vital or anything like that, and that we got him help in time and everything, that he’ll be okay. I know.”

Rhodey frowned, hearing the kid’s words but understanding the tone. “Do you believe it?” he asked gently.

“No,” Peter said, his voice breaking halfway through the syllable. “There was so much blood. Like, way too much blood.”

“He’s getting transfusions, kid,” Rhodey reminded him softly.

“I know,” Peter said hoarsely. “But then Mr. Stark stayed conscious through the entire thing, and he was more worried about _me_ than he was about the- the legit _hole_ in his shoulder. He was in pain, and he was worried about me.” 

“He just cares about you.”

Peter paused to take a shaky breath, his hands stuffed deep in the pockets of Rhodey’s jacket. “I know,” he all but whispered. “But we were at _lunch._ It wasn’t even during a mission or anything, just lunch, and then a guy pulled out a gun and shot Tony and it all went crazy.” He looked up at Rhodey, eyes anguished with worry, lips pressed together in a thin line. “I thought- I thought he was going to die right there in front of me.”

Suddenly, Peter’s backstory came soaring back to Rhodey, quietly told to him in the quiet of the workshop the night after he met Peter. The kid currently lived with his aunt, Tony said, because his parents died when he was young, and his aunt was single, because his uncle was shot and killed a few years ago. 

Shot, just like Tony, and killed, right in front of Peter.

No wonder the poor kid looked like he was edging on a breakdown.

“Oh, Peter,” Rhodey said softly, sympathy immediately rushing his features. Pushing away all thoughts of awkwardness, Rhodey got out of his chair and instead kneeled on the floor in front of Peter, so he could look the kid in the eye. His leg braces creaked with the motion, but allowed it. “Peter, listen to me. I’ve known Tony for years, and I’ve been there for most of the shitty things that have happened to him. Did you know that?”

Peter shrugged, taking a shaky breath. “Kind of.”

“Well, it’s true. I’ve seen Tony get pummeled, shot, blasted, and everything in between. Hell, I’ve seen him get kidnapped, tortured, be kept alive by nothing but a car battery and still walk away just wanting a burger.” Rhodey never broke eye contact, a hand settled on Peter’s knee, voice soft and steady. “When Tony Stark goes, he’s going out in a shower of glitter and gold and probably some sarcasm, not in a puddle of blood. One scrawny bullet is not enough to take him out. You hear me? He’s going to be fine.”

Peter blinked furiously, trying to hide the tears threatening to overflow. “Okay,” he croaked out, nodding slightly. The tension from the day showed in the lines of his face, but he kept it at bay, voice soft and wavering. “Okay.”

The corner of Rhodey’s mouth twitched up in a shadow of a sad smile. “Now, do you believe me?”

Peter laughed, the sound wet and a little bit hysterical, but genuine. “I’m getting there.”

Rhodey squeezed his knee. “Good.” 

Before Rhodey could say anything else, the doors of the waiting room opened and Helen Cho walked in. Immediately, both Rhodey and Peter turned to look at her, waiting for news.

“Tony is out of surgery,” she reported, sounding tired but satisfied, wearing clean scrubs and her hair pulled back. “There’s no lasting damage, and as soon as the wound heals up, he’ll be good as new. He’ll likely be out of it for a few hours here after the anesthetic, and we’d like to keep him at least overnight for observation, but he’s going to be just fine.”

Rhodey, with his hand still on Peter’s knee, could literally feel the tension melt out of the kid. 

And yeah, he knew, everything was going to be okay.

***

It took a few hours of Rhodey and Peter sitting and waiting in the hospital room, but Tony finally been to return to consciousness with something akin to both a groan and a long, drawn-out swear word. Peter snapped into attention instantly, having been sitting in the chair beside Tony’s bed and messing with his phone, and Rhodey watched from across the room, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest.

Blinking blearily, Tony muttered a few choice words under his breath as he came back to the land of the living, trying to rub at his eyes with his right hand just to find it attached to an IV. Almost automatically, he went to pull the needle out, but Rhodey, expecting this, crossed the room and stopped him before he could do more than move his left arm. When Tong glared up at him, Rhodey shook his head. “No.”

“You’re no fun,” Tony croaked, looking up at Rhodey with squinted eyes. 

“You need that,” Rhodey told him flatly. 

Still looking a little fuzzy, Tony reached up with his left hand to touch the bandages over his right shoulder, but Rhodey caught the hand again before he could make contact with the wound. “Uh uh,” Rhodey chastised, a little exasperated. “You don’t get to touch that either.” When Tony glared at Rhodey again without much malice, Rhodey released his arm, pleased to see that Tony was giving up at attempting to touch things he wasn’t supposed to. “You remember what happened?”

Tony squinted, swallowing thickly. He was still pale with large dark circles under his eyes, wearing the typical blue dotted hospital gown with mussed hair, overall looking like he gave less than a damn for the entire concept of being conscious. “Uh, lunch,” he said slowly, as if thinking about the words as he said them. “Gunman. Some blood. Spider-baby.” Suddenly, his eyes widened as awareness slammed into him like a truck, drug-dulled panic streaking across his face. “Wait. Oh, god, Peter.”

Rhodey caught his good shoulder before Tony could do more than sit up, Tony violently wincing in pain from moving too quickly. “Woah, Tones, take it easy,” Rhodey soothed, pushing him back against the mattress and Tony not doing much to resist it. “Peter’s right here. He’s fine.”

Peter, looking a little stricken but still managing a shaky smile, waved weakly. “Hey, Mr. Stark.”

Tony’s gaze flickered over to the kid, and immediately let out a sigh of relief, relaxing into the mattress. “Oh, hey kid,” he said, suddenly sounding breathless. “You alright?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine.”

“Good,” Tony said, and Rhodey could tell his brief spell of consciousness was coming to an end. His drowsiness was beginning to return, blinks growing longer. “Stay that way.”

Peter smiled, still a little shaky still but genuine. “I’ll try, Mr. Stark.”

“Great,” Tony muttered, already starting to fall back asleep. Rhodey wasn’t surprised, considering the amount of drugs probably being pumped into his system. There’d be time for talking later.

As Tony drifted off, Rhodey turned his attention back to Peter, who was watching Tony with an expression that was a sort of mix between relieved and exhausted. Settling a hand on Peter’s shoulder, Rhodey threw him a small smile. 

“Are you actually doing okay?” he asked him, expression soft.

Peter took a breath, nodding with a slight smile of his own. “I think so.”

Rhodey squeezed his shoulder reassuringly, his gaze flickering to Tony. “He’s gonna be just fine.”

“I know.”

Just then, Rhodey’s phone started ringing in his pocket, and he took his hand off of Peter’s shoulder to fish it out. On his screen, a picture of one Pepper Pots smiled back at him, her name plastered above it. Throwing a quick, apologetic smile to Peter, Rhodey stepped out of the room and accepted the call. 

“Hey Pep, perfect timing. Tony was just up and talking to us a few minutes ago.”

“Oh, that’s wonderful,” Pepper sighed, the relief clear in her tone. “I’m in the Singapore airport and I’m on my way home, but it’s been challenging getting flights on such short notice. How is he?”

“He’s doing well,” Rhodey said honestly, leaning back against the wall beside the entrance to Tony’s room to his right, door closed. “Helen said the surgery went great, and he’ll be back up on his feet soon. I’d say you could talk to him yourself, but he just fell back asleep.”

Pepper made a sound of dismissal, not seeming worried by this. “Oh, that’s fine, I’ll talk to him later. But that’s amazing news, I’m so glad to hear it. Thank you so much for staying with him and everything today- I don’t know what I would have done without you, James.” She paused for a moment, saying a few quick words in a different language with sounds of movement coming over the line. But then, coming back with a tone of fresh concern, she asked, “So how’s Peter doing? It had to be tough for him today, poor boy.”

“He’s doing okay, I believe. He was a little shaken up at first, but he’s doing better now.” Rhodey exhaled, letting his head rest against the wall behind him. Peter still had his jacket, so he hooked his free thumb in his jeans pocket, letting his hand hang. “He’s a really good kid, Pepper,” he added, voice soft. 

Pepper sighed softly, and Rhodey could hear the smile in her voice. “He is.”

***

After discussing the details of what happened with Pepper and wrapping up the conversation, Rhodey reentered the room. Peter was sitting beside Tony exactly how Rhodey had left him, swamped by Rhodey’s jacket with the sleeves covering his hands.

“You doing alright, Peter?” Rhodey asked, closing the door behind him. Tony was still passed out in the bed, heart monitor beeping reassuringly steadily, and Peter looked a little lighter, his posture a tiny bit less hunched and stressed.

Peter glanced over his shoulder at Rhodey, slightly cocky smile on his face. “Yeah,” he said. Then, cocky smile growing, he added, “Especially since you said you think I’m a good kid.”

Rhodey huffed a laugh, shaking his head. He’d been talking quietly out there, but he wasn’t surprised the kid had managed to hear him anyway. “Damn super hearing.”

Peter grinned, but his smile softened after a moment, becoming more genuine. “Rhodey?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks, for today.”

“Anytime, kiddo.”

**Author's Note:**

> These two are probably my favorites out of the entire MCU, but I rarely see them together, both in canon and fanfic. So, I decided to step in ;D
> 
> Also, I’m totally open to prompts, so feel free to drop suggestions/requests in the comments! 
> 
> Leave me a kudos or, if you’re feeling particularly angelic today, a comment if you enjoyed, and thanks so much for reading!!!


End file.
